Ahmad Faruqui

The resolution calling for the creation of Pakistan was passed in 1940. Seven years later, Pakistan came into being. In December 1943, Jinnah talked to British author Beverley Nichols about his ideas. Nichols published the interview next year in his book, Verdict on India. In the book, Nichols calls Jinnah the ‘most important man in Asia’ whose ‘100 million Muslims will march to the left, to the … [Read more...] about A meditation on Jinnah

There are few larger-than-life figures in Pakistani history. Asghar Khan was one of them. He became a legend in his lifetime, a man who had not one but three careers. First, the air force career which conferred on him the lifelong title of air marshal. Second, the political career in which he took on more than one authoritarian figure. And, third, the writing career in which he penned many … [Read more...] about Asghar Khan’s legacy

Iran has been wracked by riots for the past few weeks. Some of the rioters seem to be yearning for the reign of the Shah of Iran. These naive protesters are too young to remember what the Shah’s tenure was actually like. There is little doubt that the Islamic Republic has circumscribed personal and civic freedoms in Iran. Despite the despotic nature of the Shah’s regime, it was secular and not … [Read more...] about Nostalgia for the Shah of Iran

Late one April evening, we found ourselves standing at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The setting sun had lit up the multi-layered walls of the canyon in gold. It was a dazzling sight. And then the walls gradually faded from view as the earth turned on its axis. The words of John Muir, the Scottish naturalist who migrated to the US in 1849, came to mind: “It will seem as novel to you, as … [Read more...] about Sunrise over the Grand Canyon

It had been a busy year and we thought we would go to Maui, Hawaii just to hang out by the beach. On our first trip to Maui, we had driven for three hours in the darkness of the early morning hours to the top of Haleakala, an extinct volcano, to witness the magnificent sunrise over the Big Island. The summit of the volcano rises to 10,000 ft. At that elevation, the temperatures drop to the … [Read more...] about Stepping into the sands of Maui

Indian Summer by Alex Von Tunzelman is part of the growing literature on the unceremonial end of the British Raj. The scholarly work is also a page turner. The book adds nuance and texture to a well-known story. It does so by revealing the dramatis personae one at a time to the reader. No one escapes censure. All heroes are found to have feet of clay. The story begins in the year 1577 when … [Read more...] about Von Tunzelman’s analysis of the last days of the British Raj

Ayesha Jalal teaches History at Tufts University in the US and has by far written the most readable account of how Pakistan was created and evolved in the decades that followed. Jalal points out that Pakistan was beset with a confusion of purpose since its inception. Six years before the country was born, M. A. Jinnah had averred: “Pakistan has been there for centuries. It is there today, and … [Read more...] about ‘The battle for the soul of Pakistan does not yet have a clear winner’

In his memoirs, “The betrayal of East Pakistan”, published almost 30 years after his surrender in Dhaka on 16 December, 1971, Lt-Gen Niazi sought to respond to critics who had argued that his decision to surrender without a fight for Dhaka was ill advised. He claimed that he “had vast experience of commanding troops. The troops under my command were probably the best in the world.” He says that … [Read more...] about Evaluating the generalship of AAK Niazi

Pakistan’s interminable bouts of military rule have given birth to a cottage industry of scholars seeking to explain the phenomenon. The coup makers, of course, have provided their own rationale, often invoking necessity and national survival as the rationale. The courts have accepted this doctrine while they are in office and rejected it once they leave office, often calling them … [Read more...] about Does the rationale for military rule stand up to empirical testing?